Multiple wheel arrangement and suspension device therefor



Aug. 23, 1949. P. J. M. T. ALLARD 2,479,893

MULTIPLE WHEEL ARRANGEMENT AND SUSPENSION DEVICE THEREFOR Filed Dec. 22,1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 P1 5 7 i i L; O a f i L J If //vv/v70/? Aug. 23,1949. P. J. M. T. ALLARD 2,479,893

MULTIPLE WHEEL ARRANGEMENT AND SUSPENSION DEVICE THEREFOR Filed Dec. 22,1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.3

g- 1949' P. J. M. T. ALLARD 2,479,893

MULTIPLE WHEEL ARRANGEMENT AND SUSPENSION DEVICE THEREFOR Filed Dec. 22,1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 20 22 //v.v/v 70R All! A r].

Patented Aug. 23, 1949 MULTIPLE WHEEL ARRANGEMENT AND SUSPENSION DEVICETHEREFOR Pierre Jean Marie Theodore Allard,

Chantilly, France "Application December 22, 1945, Serial No. 636,609 .InFrance September 30, 1944 Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8, "1946Patent expires September 30, 1964 4 Claims.

The present invention has for its object a. suspension device forvehicles, in particular for vehicles intended for the transport of'heavyloads, andmore especially forwagons carrying a movable I jib of the typedescribed in the French patent application No. 479,656 filed by theapplicant on May '26, 1943, entitled Suspension and steering device forwagons and other vehicles.

This a invention -;is more especially concerned with the. suspension ofthe carrier and drivingwheels; the suspension of: the steering wheelsmay be carried out as described in the French applicationfor patentfiled by the applicant on -May 1.6, 1944, under No. 491,106 entitledImprovements in trailers having steerable forward gear and othervehiclesin which event the vehicle comprises ahighly rigid frame, preferablytubular and T-shaped, supporting on one end thereof :a shaft on which is:pivotally mounted the suspension device for the 'steering wheels.

According to the invention each driving wheel is supported by alever-connected to the frame through two resilient suspension membersarranged in series, one ofwhich is intended to be operative underno-load conditions, .to ensure a resilient suspension in roadtravel-andthe other becoming operative only when the vehicle is loaded,- after theother has been-completely distorted.

For example,.the resilient-suspension device may be constituted byhelicalcompression springs connected in series with another more rigidresilient device (for example a pile of Belleville washers, a spring orarubberblock) ,which becomes. operative only after the first-mentionedhelical spring has been entirely compressed.

In this manner the driving wheels are mounted on double actingsuspension devices, ensuring ideal suspension whether the'frame be.loaded or not.

According to a further feature of the invention, eachdriving wheel iscoupled in twin relationship with a free carrier wheel mounted on abalancing bar which may swing about a fulcrum near the centre pointthereof at the end of alever connected to the .frame through theresilient suspension referred to, above, such anarrangement making itpossible to reduce the di mensions of the wheels for a given load.

The lever-arms of the driving and carrier wheels with respect to theswinging-fulcrum of the balancing arm are so selected as suitably totransfer the load, so that the driving wheels proper will at all timesbe slightly more heavily loaded than the carrier wheels, and will, inall casesoffer. suflicientadhesion to the ground to draw the vehiclealong.

Thewhole deviceisso constructed as to'comply with road regulations withrespect to its dimensions. however, when the-crane is supposed to handleparticularly heavy. loads at the workyard or at loading and unloadingpoints-addrtional loose removable or retractable wheelsmay be added tothe drive-wheels so es -further .to reduce the strain on the latterwhile at the same time increasing the transverse stability.

. Further features of theinvention will he made clear from thefollowingdescription, referringto the accompanying .drawing which.showsby way of. example, one embodiment ,of .theinvention and-wherein:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic general viewin side elevation of the vehicle;

Fig. 2 is a:p1an;

Fig. 3 is a view to a larger scale of a couple of driving andcarrier-wheels.

.Fig. 4 is a detail of thedoubleeacting resilient suspension device;

Fig. 5 is an elevation, of an alternative embodiment, and

Fig. 6 is a plan view corresponding to. Fig. .5.

With reference. to the drawing, the index numeral I designates the frameof the car, such asa. highly rigid tubular Ii-shapedirameon which ismounted .a crane with amovable .J'ib 2, asdescribed in theabovesmentioned application ofMay 26, 1943.

The steering-wheels 3 and 4 are carried. for example by aframej adaptedto swing aboutan axle Barranged at the end of the frame, as de scribed,-in the afore-mentioned application of May 16, 1944.

The suspension of the drive-wheels l,"8 which constitutethepresentinvention is eifected as follows:

..Each of suchwheels is carried by a lever 9 hinged at it] on the frame(Fig. 4).

The .levers 9 are connected .to the'frame I through two shock-absorbingor resilient devices arranged in. series and constituted by rubber-blocks,-,BelleviIle washers or springs II and I2, selected in suclraway as to cause spring 'II to operate whenfthe vehicle is running.without a load and spring l2 to operate only when spring I l is totallycompressed, the vehicle being loaded. Preferably the whole device issupported by a rod I 3, hinged on the frame about an axis I 4 andslidably mounted in a guide i 5 of the lever 9.

In order to relieve the driving-wheels, the same are preferably twinnedwith the carrier-wheels l6, I! (Fig. 2). In each couple of Wheels thecarrier-wheel l6 and the driving wheel I are mounted loose on a singleshaft [8 oscillating in the support 9 about a point A (Fig. 3) solocated that the distribution of the load on the carrieranddrivingwheels will be the most satisfactory, namely that the latter willat all times be more heavily loaded than the former so as to providesufficient adhesion to ensure satisfactory propulsion of the vehicle.The said shaft 18 forms arms of different lengths, the leverage of theshaft arm carrying the said driving wheel being shorter than theleverage of the shaft arm carrying the said. loose carrier wheel.

The driving-wheels l, 8 are driven by any suitable means, such as asprocket-wheel l9 fixed on the hub of the wheel.

When the crane is supposed to be subjected to very heavy loads, such asat a building-yard or at loading or unloading points, the carrier-wheelsI6, I! and especially the driving-wheels I, 8 may be subjected toconsiderable overloading. So as to avoid overloading the driving-wheelsthese may be supplemented by additional wheels 20, 2| loosely rotatablymounted on the end of shaft l 8. Due to the fact that the wheels 23, 2!are loosely mounted on the shaft I8, they have no action regarding thedriving of the vehicle which is only controlled by the driving wheels I,8 independently of said loose wheels 2!], 2|. Such wheels 20, 2| arehowever readily removable whereby the vehicle may be broughtba-ck to thedimensions required by road-regulations for travel by road. The additionof these wheels permits of increasing lateral stability of the cranewhen the same is under load. When the wheels 29, 2! are removed, thewheels I, 8 are held in place on the shaft [8 by means of an auxiliaryhub (not shown) having the same dimensions as the hub of the wheels '20,2 I.

In the alternative embodiment of Figs. and 6, the additional wheels 20,2| instead of being removably mounted at the end of shaft 18 areretractably mounted in corresponding yokes 22 pivoting on the frame Iabout inclined axes 23, so as to be able to occupy two positions, namelyan operative position shown in full lines, in which the additional wheelis coaxial with the shaft 18,

and a retracted position, shown in dots and dashes, in which theadditional wheel is folded back alongside the frame, so as to beincluded Within the regulation clearance required of the vehicle.

The reason for the slant given to the pin 23 is to prevent the frictionof the tyre as the wheel is set from one position to the other, withoutthe necessity of raising the vehicle with jacks.

The additional wheels may be maintained in each of these positions byany suitable locking means.

It will of course be understood that the nvention is not limited to theconstructional details herein described given by way of example only.Thus, the frame could be made in the form of a caisson, or of atriangular framework or the like, the number of carrier or ofsteering-wheels could be increased or reduced etc. The resilientsuspending devices could be constituted by oleopneumatic devices.

Having now described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a vehicle, a frame, a driving wheel, a lever pivotally connectedto-said'frame, resilient suspension means disposed between said leverand said frame, a shaft carrying said wheel at one end and pivotallymounted at an intermediate point of its length on said lever, said shaftforming arms of different lengths, a loose carrier wheel disposed at theother end of said shaft, the leverage of the shaft arm carrying saiddriving wheel being shorter than the leverage of the shaft arm carryingsaid loose wheel, and a second loosely rotatable carrier wheel removablymounted in coaxial twinning position with said driving wheel.

2. In a vehicle, a frame, a driving wheel, a lever pivotally connectedto said frame, resilient suspension means disposed between said leverand said frame, a shaft carrying said wheel at one end and pivotallymounted at an intermediate point of its length on said lever, said shaftforming arms of different lengths, a loose carrier wheel disposed at theother end of said shaft, the leverage of the shaft arm carrying saiddriving wheel being shorter than the leverage of the shaft arm carryingsaid loose wheel, a second loosely rotatable carrier wheel adapted tooperate in coaxial twinning position with said driving wheel and aretractable support for said second loose wheel for bringing same to andfrom said twinning position.

3. A vehicle as claimed in claim 2, wherein said retractable supportcomprises a lever hinged to said frame about an inclined axis.

4. In a vehicle, a frame, a driving wheel, a lever pivotally connectedto said frame, a shaft carrying said wheel at one end and pivotallymounted at an intermediate point of its length in said lever, said shaftforming arms of different lengths, a loose carrier wheel disposed at theother end of said shaft, the leverage of the shaft arm carrying saiddriving wheel being shorter than the leverage of the shaft arm carryingsaid loose wheel, and resilient suspension means disposed between saidlever and said frame.

PIERRE JEAN MARIE THEODORE ALLARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

